(Bloomberg) — An affiliate of DigitalBridge Group Inc. is exploring the sale of Andean Telecom Partners, an owner of infrastructure including telecommunications towers and fiber networks in Colombia, Peru and Chile, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
DigitalBridge, working with an adviser, has begun soliciting interest in the Hollywood, Florida-based company from potential suitors, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Andean Telecom Partners, also known as ATP, may fetch $2 billion or more in a sale, the people said.
A DigitalBridge representative declined to comment.
Led by Chief Executive Officer Daniel Seiner, ATP counts telecommunications companies including wireless carriers as its customers. The firm, founded in 2015 by DigitalBridge, raised $375 million in April in its first debt offering.
In 2017, ATP acquired Torres Unidas from Berkshire Partners LLC, a move that ATP said made it the largest closely held tower company in the Andean region. Earlier in the year, ATP said it raised capital from Interconexion Electrica SA, also known as ISA, along with Saudi investment conglomerate Olayan Group, and Sam Zell’s Equity International, among others.
The tower industry has experienced consolidation, most notably led by American Tower Corp.’s $9.4 billion deal for about 30,700 tower sites in Spain, Germany, Brazil, Peru, Chile and Argentina held by Telefonica SA unit Telxius Telecom. Institutional investors have been bullish on the segment, with expectations of continued growth and predictable returns. In June, Telstra Corp., Australia’s biggest telecommunications company, inked a deal to sell a stake in its tower business to a consortium comprising Australia’s sovereign-wealth fund and pension funds, reaping A$2.8 billion ($2.1 billion) in proceeds.
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